New York - Today, the Black Futures Lab launched Black to the Ballot, a voter registration and activation initiative that will expand the Black electorate in nine states and unite Black voters around an agenda that foregrounds the most important issues that impact our lives. #BlackToTheBallot promises to register 10,000 new Black voters across nine states: Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Nevada, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin. In each state, the Black Futures Lab is working with local organizations with extensive relationships in Black communities that are often left out of the decisions that impact their lives, and left behind when it comes to reaping the benefits of the American Dream.
“Too often, Black voters are given style over substance. We are asked to stand behind agendas that don’t serve us or address the issues that are important to our families. Black voters are expected to show up at the polls, but we don’t make clear what we want Black voters to show up for -- and what Black voters will get out of it, said Alicia Garza, principal of the Black Futures Lab. #BlackToTheBallot does just that -- we identify the issues that Black voters care about, and ask Black voters to show up to the polls not for candidates, but for the issues that impact our lives and the solutions that will improve the lives of our families.”
#BlackToTheBallot is not just another voter registration drive but rather a continued and concerted effort led by Black Futures Lab to inspire and mobilize a vital voting constituency whose needs are often left unaddressed. The Black Futures Lab is working with fourteen Black led grassroots partners across nine states to mobilize communities and register 10,000 new and unlikely voters and has earmarked nearly $500,000 worth of online, digital and on-the-ground resources to register and turn out Black voters in the upcoming presidential election and future elections on the municipal, state and federal levels.
The issues that Black voters care about -- across geography, political affiliation, and demographic -- is called the Black Agenda 2020, a roadmap for how to address key issues in the economy, our democracy, and our society that are plaguing Black America.
The Black Agenda 2020 is an antidote to the deceptive messages that our communities heard this week during the State of the Union address. It is rooted in the voices of tens of thousands of Black people from all different walks of life across the country, who represent millions more who, until now, have been unseen and unheard.
Black voters are overwhelmingly disappointed and tired of being exploited and dismissed by a system that feels entitled to our vote, but not responsible for our progress. Black Futures Lab has identified a Black agenda that addresses the issues our communities care about, like: the economy; jobs, environmental justice; criminal justice; harassment and state sponsored violence. These were the most important issues to respondents to the Black Census, the largest survey of Black communities in 155 years.
“Black communities will play a decisive role in determining the future of this country. If you’re not convinced, you only need to look at last week's State of the Union address,” said Garza. Opportunistic politicians make a case for our votes, but they aren’t really interested in improving our lives.We are tired of being used as pawns for political gain, without a real commitment to the priorities of black people across the nation.”
“They know that we are tired of being taken for granted. If we're not careful, if we don't invest in organizing Black communities that have been left out and left behind, the opportunists will win. The Black Futures Lab is exactly in the right place, at the right time. We are organizing our communities around the issues that are important to us. We are registering thousands of new Black voters in nine states across the nation. We do the work to make sure there's a vision our communities can vote for, and to hold accountable those who profit off of the suffering of our families. We listen to Black communities and we are joining hands to build a movement that can make us all powerful in politics. We engage, motivate, and activate Black communities to fight for a future that includes all of us, and we hope you join us.”
Source: Christopher Collins-McNeil
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